She left home on the eve of Christmas with the hope to return the next day to celebrate with the family not knowing the harsh fate awaiting her. That Friday was her last encounter with members of her family.
Plangnan Solomon, a resident of Congo Rosha, in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State was nowhere to be found after four days, a development that signaled her family that everything was not well.
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Her body was found dumped in the waterways near Plateau Radio Television Station in Rayfield, Jos after a few days of searching with some parts of her body already removed.
“It is not in her character to leave home and stay longer than time. Anytime she left home, at most, she stayed away for one day and returned but the last time she left, it was unusual.
“Three days after she went out, we didn’t hear from her. I then asked her sisters to call her phone number. We dialled the number severally but there was no response.
“We later heard that a picture of the corpse of a young woman was posted on Facebook but it didn’t occur to us that it was her,” her mother, Salomi Solomon, told our correspondent in an emotion laden voice.
Bridget John, a nephew to the deceased, explained how the family was able to trace and identify the body of their sister.
When the body of Plangnan was first discovered, residents of the area had posted the picture of the corpse on various social media platforms to create awareness.
“A day after I saw the picture on Facebook, though I couldn’t recognise who was in the picture, I was disturbed by the development because I knew that my aunt was nowhere to be found, and she could be the one in the picture. I told my grandma about it and asked what about if that corpse was Plangnan’s.
“I called other members of the family to go to where the body was said to have been seen. We took a tricycle and headed to a police outpost in Rayfield where we made enquiries.”
Bridget explained that the officer in charge at the station showed them a picture and was recognised as Plangnan’s.
“The police said she had been buried because they couldn’t keep the body with them in that it was getting rotten and wouldn’t be good to leave it like that. Afterwards, we were all taken to Mai Adiko Burial Ground and showed where she was buried. We came back home and informed the family that Plangnan was confirmed dead and already buried.”
I warned Plangnan not to trust men – Mother
The deceased mother said she had always advised her daughter not to trust men because some use the opportunity of their relationship with women to achieve their hidden objectives.
“The death of Plangnan is painful but there is nothing I can do. As a believer, we just have to be patient but it is painful. We have accepted it in good faith. Children of today don’t listen to their parents any more. They prefer to do whatever they like. I remember, always warn her to be careful with men.
“This will serve as a lesson to everyone especially women. Never trust men all the time. There are good ones among them but many are bad. Whoever seeks relationship with you, investigate to know if the person is of good character before accepting him. If not, leave him and forge ahead with your life. These are my words to all women,” the mother added.
We are missing a generous sister – older sister
An older sister to the deceased, Nanman Solomon, described Plangnan’s death as a great loss to the entire family.
“We have really missed a sister but God knows why he took her at this time. She loved everybody in the family. When she was alive, whenever she offended you, she would come for forgiveness. We will live to remember her forever,” she said.
Police yet to begin investigation
Daily Trust Saturday however uncovered that the police had not made any effort to investigate the murder case despite being the one that buried the victim even before the family knew about it.
“The case was not reported to the police and that was why no investigation was carried on the matter,” the police spokesman in the state, ASP Ubah Gabriel, said.
However, the family has insisted that the police was aware of the incident because they reported at the police outpost at Rayfield while searching for the whereabouts of the victim.
While commenting on the incident, the community leader of Congo Rosha, where the victim hailed from, Victor Kwara, said what happened to Plangnan was condemnable, calling on security in the state to intensify efforts to curb criminal activities in the state.
He said, “It is worrisome that we are no longer safe. People can’t move freely. People are often scared of what may happen to them. We call on government to do everything possible to bring an end to all forms criminal activities in the state.”
Daily Trust Saturday reports that there have been increasing cases of ritual killing in Jos in recent time with reports indicating people, especially women, are killed and certain parts of their bodies are often removed.
Our correspondent reports that on January 6, the police found the corpse of a UniJos student, Jennifer Anthony, in Domus Pacis Guest House, allegedly killed by her boyfriend with her eyes and other parts of her body removed.
Governor Simon Lalong had, following the recent killings of the two young women, alleged that such act could be connected to ritual killings suspected to be carried out by “Yahoo Boys”.
